9mobile, in partnership with Bango, the leading global mobile payments company, has launched a new operator-billed payments solution known as "9pay" for Google Play users. With 9pay, customers can pay for an array of media, games, apps and digital content on Google Play store.

Customers can open and fund a 9pay account by dialing *500# or visiting 9pay.com.ng. All funds are securely warehoused and monitored by UBA Plc. Alternatively, they can complete this process while they are in the play store.

9pay customers will also be able to use their accounts to pay for an exciting array of services online like lottery, collect change digitally and pay for web services. This great new step also ensures that local developers of apps and games will find it infinitely easier to monetise their offerings.

Chief Product and Information Officer, 9mobile, Otuyemi Otule, noted that 9mobile was happy to expand its mobile payment solutions in Nigeria, which has a combination of a highly unbanked and highly mobile-first population. He added that 9mobile's 9pay offers millions of consumers a means of making important financial transactions, including sending and receiving money, receiving change from merchants, topping up air-time and much more.

"We are delighted to enable customers place the charge for content and services from Google Play on their 9pay account. This launch is a significant addition to the value of mobile payments for our customers," Otule said.

According to the CEO of Bango, Ray Anderson, "It's instructive to note that 76 per cent of all online traffic in Nigeria is from mobile devices. Smartphone adoption is growing rapidly, with Android accounting for over 60 per cent of the mobile operating systems market share in Nigeria as at 2016.

9mobile and Bango target a high impact in Nigeria, approximately 150 million subscribers, which will be more than any other African country," Anderson said.

"With a high Android device penetration and low banked population, Africa has become a prime market for transformative mobile payment solutions. Direct Carrier Billing and stored value systems such as 9pay provide a safe, simple mechanism for increasing access to digital content and services," Anderson added.

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